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Biological agent
of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.]] A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, or fungus that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrorism or biological warfare (BW). In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date. Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings. The Biological Weapons Convention (1972) is an international treaty banning the use or stockpiling of bio-agents; as of February 2015, there were 171 state signatories. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and general medical purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout the world. In 2008, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report , China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Taiwan were considered, with varying degrees of certainty, to be maintaining bio-agents in an offensive BW program capacity. Classifications Operational The former US biological warfare program (1943-1969) categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either "lethal agents" (Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Botulinum toxin) or "incapacitating agents" (Brucella suis, Coxiella burnetii, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B).Headquarters, Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and Commandant, Marine Corps (17 July 2000), Field Manual: Treatment of Biological Warfare Casualties (Army FM 8-284/Navy NAVMED P-5042/Air Force AFMAN (I) 44-156/Marine Corps MCRP 4-11.1C), para 1-4 (pg 1-3). Legal Since 1997, United States law has declared a list of bio-agents designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture that have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety" to be officially defined as "select agents" and possession or transportation of them are tightly controlled as such.Additional Requirements for Facilities Transferring or Receiving Select Agents, Title 42 CFR Part 72 and Appendix A; 15 April 1997 (DHHS). Select agents are divided into "HHS select agents and toxins", "USDA select agents and toxins" and "Overlap select agents and toxins". Regulatory The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) breaks biological agents into three categories: Category A, Category B, and Category C. Category A agents pose the greatest threat to the U.S. Criteria for being a Category "A" agent include high rates of morbidity and mortality; ease of dissemination and communicability; ability to cause a public panic; and special action required by public health officials to respond. Category A agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. List of bio-agents of military importance :The following pathogens and toxins were weaponized by one nation or another at some time. NATO abbreviations are included where applicable. Bacterial bio-agents Chlamydial bio-agents Rickettsial bio-agents Viral bio-agents *Additionally, the Soviet Union is known to have weaponized Marburg virus (MARV) in the 1970s and '80s.Kenneth Alibek and S. Handelman. Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World - Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran it. 1999. Delta (2000) . Mycotic bio-agents Biological toxins Biological vectors Simulants Simulants are organisms or substances which mimic physical or biological properties of real biological agents, without being pathogenic. They are used to study the efficiency of various dissemination techniques or the risks caused by the use of biological agents in bioterrorism. To simulate dispersal, attachment or the penetration depth in human or animal lungs, simulants must have particle sizes, specific weight and surface properties, similar to the simulated biological agent. The typical size of simulants (1-5 µm) enables it to enter buildings with closed windows and doors and penetrate deep into the lungs. This bears a significant health risk, even if the biological agent is normally not pathogenic. *''Bacillus globigii'' (historically named Bacillus subtilis in the context of bio-agent simulants) (BG, BS, or U) *''Serratia marcescens'' (SM or P) *''Aspergillus fumigatus'' mutant C-2 (AF) *''Escherichia coli'' (EC) *''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (BT) *''Erwinia herbicola'' (current accepted name: Pantoea agglomerans) (EH) *Fluorescent particles such as Zinc cadmium sulfide, ZnCdS (FP) In popular culture See also * Biological hazard * Biological contamination * Laboratory Response Network * Pulsed ultraviolet light * Toxin References External links * Rafał L. Górny, Biological agents, OSHwiki * U.S. Department of Labor - Biological Agents * U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Select Agents and Toxins Category:Biological weapons Category:Biological contamination